Iconic Canadian brewery will no longer give employees free beer for life

Reuters Canadian brewer Labatt is ending its promise to give employees free beer for the rest of their lives.

The brewery, which is owned by beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, announced in late October that it would cut the perk by 2019. Currently, employees and retirees get one case of beer per week, according to CBC News. That perk will be cut in half by 2018 before being phased out completely.

Labatt has offered free beer for current and former employees for more than 50 years.

The brewery was founded in 1847, in London, Ontario. Interbrew — a Belgium-based brewing company that is now part of the beer giant AB InBev — purchased the business in 1995.

Today, Labatt is just one of AB InBev's many offerings, which include Bud Light, Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois. The company made $55 million in revenue in 2015.

CBC News reported that cutting free beer is part of a wider cost-cutting initiative at Labatt, which has 3,000 employees in Canada. Prior to 2010, starting wages were reportedly $34 per hour at the brewery. Since 2010, starting wages have been lowered to $24 per hour, and new employees have to pay into their own pension.